Last night I got to fly the coop for a little while and take in an Elvis Costello show at the legendary Ryman Auditorium here in Nashville. He is reunited with his backing band the Imposters this tour, and they have revived the Spectacular Spinning Songbook, a humungous wheel with the names of 40 songs on it. Audience members were escorted to the stage by his lovely assistant Lola to spin the wheel, and either sit at a vintage bar on the stage and enjoy the performance, or become part of the act by dancing in a go go cage (I was a bit surprised how many participants took him up on that, considering how short the line at the bar in the lobby was). The set was a fantastic blend of retro living room and old school carnival.
This was my fourth Costello concert and so far my favorite. In addition to the selections from the Spinning Songbook, he did a short set of Americana tunes for his first encore and his delivery really blew me away. He even strode away from the mic at a couple of points and sang unamplified, taking advantage of the Ryman's unsurpassed acoustics (better even than Radio City Music Hall). I don't know how he does it, but the man just gets better and better with age.
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